Notes / Commercial Description:
This beer is 6.2% when released in Europe, US labels say 6.9% due to labeling laws.

Many agree that the somewhat unpractical addition of this sometimes undesired yeast strain is what grants Orval its age worthiness, not to mention unique aroma, making it a one of the few beers worth cellaring.

Reviews by RobertDwight:

Poured into my lovely Orval challis. It has a deep orange and light reddish/brown color to it. The head is outstanding, it looks so creamy. The head almost reminds me of soft peak egg whites, kind of like meringue. I smell a lot of citrus, and it also reminds me of the smell of a lambic. Tastes of toffee and fresh bread at first, then quickly moves to the citrus & spicy bitterness of the hops which lingers on the tounge a while after taking a drink. This beer reminds me of a lemon meringue pie. I am a huge fan of this beer and think people should drink more of it.

More User Reviews:

Straight pour from an 11.2oz/325ml pry-off bottle to a teku; a bottling date of February 7, 2013 and a freshness date of February 7, 2018 (five years, wooo) is printed in white ink to the left of the logo on the label (“BOTTLED ON 02/07/2013 BEST BEFORE 02/07/2018 B”)—so, just over 15 months old. Now that is some excellent freshness info.

Appearance (3.5): Four fingers of ecru-colored foam easily rise off of the pour, capping a rich, copper-colored body that’s moderately hazy but not cloudy. The head dies down at a moderate pace, leaving just sparse lacing in the form of thin splotches and webbing. Admittedly, the lacing is disappointing at first, but the head and body together were gorgeous. As the beer recedes, it does leave a few long, chunky splotches of thick lace.

Smell (4.25): Some interesting vinous notes at first blush (rich, off-dry white wine, but no wood), followed quickly by a little tart fruit (white grapes, unsweetened apple juice), and then a nice, bucolic funk—a little musty basement, plenty of dried hay. As it warms, a little more fruit comes out, in the form of some dry apple cider and a little crushed pineapple.

Taste (4.25): There’s a lot going on here, quite frankly, but it’s lovely and surprisingly crushable considering what the beer looks like (kinda hefty). A grassy, juicy flavor leads, slightly bitter, followed by a light, vinous mixture of mildly tart fruit (white grapes) and minerality (like a not-too-dry sauv blanc). This is all underscored by a well-balanced blend of malt and surprisingly clean funk: fresh-baked, rustic wheat bread, just a little bit of mustiness and hay, a bit of spicy phenolic character (like grains of paradise and coriander, maybe?) and a light, clean snap of lemon zest. A lightly spicy, faintly phenolic aftertaste lingers for a bit, but dissipates cleanly.

Mouthfeel (4.0): The body is medium-weight, nicely fluid (not at all syrupy, but only slightly drying), and accompanied by a voluminous, soft carbonation that enters fully-expanded and leaves with just a soft tingle, overall. Way too easy to drink. It finishes cleanly and pleasantly, leaving very little trace of its presence (absolutely no booze, no particularly notable drying effect, etc.).

Overall (4.25): This beer is always an experience, because I swear it’s different every time I drink it. And, every time it’s delicious. Some common currents between all experiences: lightly tart fruitiness, vinous character, minerality, hay and must, clean phenolic funk, and light spice. Occasionally it’s surprisingly hoppy, occasionally the musty character is very pronounced, occasionally the spice and phenols are greater, occasionally the tartness is much greater, and occasionally the head is absolutely out of control. But every time—including this time—it’s delicious. It’s easy to scoff at the price for a single, but given the quality of the beer it’s always worth buying, at least every once in a while.

Taste: Smooth and crisp with a lightish body though the mouth feel appears to be full up front. Touch of lemon rind with a fresh cut hay flavour, hop bitterness makes a snappy bite. Horse blanket and other medicinal phenols over take the tongue for a bit also. Tart from start to finish with hints of cider and other tart fruits. The finish seems to be everlasting in its dryness.

Notes: The sheer complexity of this fine ale is mind boggling ... one of the originals. This brew is all old school ... dating back to the 1100's. If you are into Belgian ales this will be a sure treat. Some soft cheese and dark rye makes a perfect pairing.

Appearance  Very deep, cloudy, orange body with a tinge of brown underneath a beautiful, volcanic head that went down slowly and laced the glass. Yep, its a BSPA.

Smell  Classic, spicy, BSPA aroma. This one has a nice light malt base filled with clove, coriander, pepper, paprika, and maybe even a little cinnamon. The fruits seem more on the sour side, though, which would be off-style.

Taste  This has a deep, rich flavor, but again its heavy on the lemons. Anyway, that said, this is actually dry from the hop balance. The spices are heavy on the tongue as well.

Mouthfeel  Full carbonation and a sour profile makes this medium-bodied BSPA a real sipper.

Drinkability  I was disappointed by this offering. I felt it was off style and lacked the fruity character that Ive come to enjoy from strong Belgian ales.

Comments  Sorry, not my idea of the style. Pop a Pranqster or La Fin Du Monde to see what I prefer. Or, better yet, read TheLongBeachBums review of the Avec Les Bons Voeux.

Had this quite a while ago - figured it was time to do a re-review and see how it went this time around. Orval pours a rustic amber color; opaque for the most part, though some light passes through at the edges of the glass without much trouble. The huge, cream-colored cap is something to marvel at; it remains thick and lasts seemingly for days, leaving huge sheets of lace along the sides of the glass.

The aroma contains a quick, sharp tartness that hints at a combination of orange and lemon zest. Bigger inhales reveal a nice tropical-like fruitiness, highly akin to pineapple - this is most likely from the Brett, which also brings a swift bit of funk to the plate; like a slightly musty, mostly sweaty barnyard. Juicy green hops in the finish show signs of grass, leaves, and light citrus. The nose on this is really unique, and fantastic in it's own right.

The first sip starts off like a carbon copy of the first whiff - a surly tartness hits your palate right away, followed by some calming waves of orange peels and lemon zest. The pineapple is apparent as well, though in more of of a stinging, bitter pith fashion than a juicy, sweet kind. Hops are plentiful; leafy, grassy, dry, citrusy, and quite bitter for a Belgian ale. Again, very discernible and quite complex.

Brettanomyces abound in the latter half of each sip, bringing some musty cellar, mellow barnyard, and stale cork flavors to the table. The finish contains a subtle amount of citrus zest and yeasty funk with a lasting bitterness from the dry hopping. This stuff is carbonated to the brim, giving it a sharp, crisp mouth feel; effervescent and light, despite the medium stature of the body.

Orval is a pretty awesome trappist ale. I guess when you only brew one beer, you have more time to test, tweak, and perfect it, and it seems like the monks at Brasserie d'Orval have done just that. On most days I'd say that this is not my favorite trappist ale, although it always stands out to me as the most unique. The Brett and the dry-hopping really set it apart from the others and always keep me coming back to this funny, oblong bottle.

Poured from a 12oz bottle bottled on 12/8/15 (good until 12/8/20). Fridge temp. Into a snifter.

Wow. Hello foam! Even with a delicate pour, you are going to get a HUGE head--probably the biggest I have ever seen on a bottled beer. The beer is crystal clear at fist but hazy once the whole bottle is poured. A lovely medium amber hue. Head recedes very slowly, so get comfy while pouring. Heavy lacing like none I have seen before. Just such a foamy, frothy beer. There is a head until the last sip.

Upon cracking the cap off, I am met with the aroma of spices. Very spicy, very yeasty, slightly fruity (apples, pears), slightly funky.

Taste is spicy, yeasty, floral and slightly malty with hints of apple and pear.

Feel is crisp, dry, and light with medium carbonation.

Overall a very unique beer-- like none I have had before. This likely due to the unique yeast used. I definitely recommend trying this one. I will likely revisit it in the future, maybe pick up a bottle or two to age...

Look: you can't poor this beer cleanly. It's impossible. The head is massive, the hugest I've. It stays the whole time, literally filling half the glass like a protective shield. Beautiful copper color to the brew.

Smell: I work in the wine industry. I Would rather smell this beer all day and never drink it, then spend all day smelling, tasting, spitting and analyzing wine. Nothing pretentious here, just a beer that smells so beer-y it's like getting some kind of contact high, dying and going to beer heaven.

Taste: beer. Malts, banana, all kinds of spices. Bitter finish.

Feel: nearly perfect, just a little too much of a bitter aftertaste, but it's really not even a bad thing by the end of the bottle because of the sheer quality of the hops and water used.

Aroma is wet, musty, attic blanket. Color is dark straw from the barnyard. Head is like a Dairy Queen. Lacing is like looking through a pane of glass after a rain. Taste is must, grit, dust in a dirty corner of the kitchen, chewy with bacon, saltines, horsehair. If Webster's had a photo of funk next to the definition of the word in the dictionary, then the beautiful bowling pin bottle of Orval would be it. If Alexander the Great wanted a beer after crossing the Khyber Pass then Orval would be it. If St. Thomas Aquinas needed a sixth proof for God's existence, it would be a bottle of Orval. It is without doubt my favorite beer. Go Trappists!

If there is ever one beer that it should be considered absolute blasphemy to drink straight out of the bottle, truly, Orval is it. Not only would that waste the illustrious chalice (designed by the abbey's architect) but you'd be missing out on what is surely the poster-boy for Belgian beers. The name Orval is derived from 'Val d'Or' (Golden Valley) and indeed, a beautiful and clear, glistening amber, the beer lives up to that billing.

The Inuits have so many words for snow, as many Asian cultures do for rice; I wish beer reviewers had the same for head. Orval's deserves its own word; its an unfailing ultra-lush marshmallow that climbs a mile high over the beer. It looks like the clouds themselves. They say a picture paints a thousand words, this one paints just one: gorgeous.

Just because a beer is brewed by monks doesn't necessarily mean it's holy - in Orval's case, however, it is. Heaven, I imagine, probably smells something like this - the beer does, after all, smell like God's feet. Every bottle is a religious experience. It is the distilled super-essence of acres of fruit orchards and flower gardens. Sweet bread and tart berries marry. Much of this magic is owed to the 'hocus pocus' of a wild yeast known as Brettanomyces.

Orval has the complexity of a beer its strength, yet the 6.9% alcohol has been completely deferred; I've never encountered a boozy bottle. If you look through most beer books - or at least all the ones that I have - you'll find plenty of information on the history of the abbey and its romantic legend, but you won't find much detailed description about the actual beer itself. Indeed, it's an intricate beer so unique that it's tough to describe...

Pressed, I'd say it tastes like a combination of pungent soft cheese, fresh warm bread and tart berry fruits. (Yeast is truly one of the world's last areas of magic!) It is perhaps the longest taste ever and is dry as a mid-summer breeze. Its carbonation is bubbly and brisk. Hops are a drop in the bucket but a fleeting taste of their earthy, leafy bitterness is readily noted. Such a treat to drink, and so balanced, Orval is true harmony in a bottle.

Orval is a drink that can turn savages into civilized men. Although as a rule I avoid making dramatic and subjective statements, I have no hesitation in saying this is the most perfectly crafted beer ever. And I know for a fact that some of the world's best brewers wouldn't hesitate to agree. Drink it once, remember it forever. If ever I had to chose a perfect beer...

A: Pours a cloudy copper color with a massive off white head that takes quite a while to die down and never really goes away. A good amount of lacing is left on the glass.

S: The faint aroma of yellow apples. A little bit of lemon. A good bit of brett funk coming through with this one being a year old. The hops are still there in the background, but you've really got to search for them.

T: The hops are have faded and are definitely more subtle than when fresh, but they're still detectable. The brett has come to the foreground as opposed to being much less noticeable in a fresh bottle. A bit of tart apple flavor. Just a touch sour. A slight bit of a phenolic medicinal prescence as the beer warms.

M: Good, moderate carbonation but just oh so smooth and very creamy. The thin cap of foam that never leaves certainly helps this. Medium bodied.

D: Off the charts. This is simply a great beer that goes down very easy while at the same time remaining intensely complex. I will be stocking up on a lot more of this one. Truly a world class beer, and my absolute favorite Trappist Ale by far.

A fantastically dry and refreshing beer with a hint of malty sweetness that ends with a tweak of bitterness at the end. Grassy. The carbonation is high and provides a wonderful dry finish, and the head is rich and full. Strongly recommended. For me, at least, this ale should be listed as a Tripel.

Drinking a pretty fresh bottle - bottled in September of this year (so not expecting much Brett). Pours a hazy amber orange, with a HUGE frothy Brett induced head that leaves tons of lacing and diffuses into strange shapes. Aroma has very light funkiness, mainly a clean biscuit malt tone with hints of lemon. Refreshing and full taste/mouthfeel, lemon bitterness from noble hops. Tart finish but smooth throughout. A delicious Belgian pale.

Finally getting to review one of my favorite Trappist ales. Bottled on 15/12/16

Appearance: Pours a mysterious hazy orange, nearly an amber with a thin head and beautiful lacing that clings in fine wisps.

Aroma: Scent of the usual belgian yeasts, clove banana bubblegum - along with a slight funk that makes Orval what it is, hints of the sea and grass.

Mouthfeel: Unbelivable moutfeel unlike any of the other Trappist ales, but is closest to St Bernardus Tripel, fine carbonation whose articulation dances in the creaminess of it all.

Taste: Lighter than the usual suspects in the style, but with such nice herbal, sea salt, floral notes as to give it something none of the others do. Its funk reminds me of a saison, but its fullness tells you its a trappist belgian pale ale. Along with the herbal notes comes hints of citrus and pepper which close it off.

This is a top brew, and I'm glad I finally got around to reviewing it, because I believe it to have a spot among my very favorites, and is certainly within my top three of all belgian brews. Reserved and mysterious; absolute class act.

What a delicious, beautiful beer. I love drier, funkier beers and this one is lovely. The smell is intoxicating and the taste is complex with plenty of different flavor notes. Definitely a sipping beer, seems like it would go well with cheese or something of that nature. A new favorite for me.

A- Pours a Hazy Copper topped by an endless white head. Got half of the 330 mL Bottle into a 500 mL Tulip before the head was threatening to jump out of the glass. Annoying enough but the fascinating part it that it took around 5 minutes for the head to die down enough that I could pour the rest of the bottle into the glass; there was one clump that lasted the entire 15-20 minutes it took me to drink the glassful! Lots of thick lacing on the glass.

S- Grapefruit, Apple, pear, peach, grapes. A lot of fruit flavours that I did not expect with this Ale! Slight funk mixed in. Absolutely beautiful. A Masterpiece for the nose...

T- The perfect amount of grassy/earthy bitterness followed by the beautiful fruit found in the nose.

O- I'll start by saying that this beer is a one-of-a-kind; an absolute masterpiece. The unexpected hoppy and fruity flavours are exceptional an according to what i've heard, this beer ages wonderfully. I can't wait to try an aged bottle (I have one in my cellar now)!

Ah, one of the eternal greats of Belgian brewing, Orval. Not sure what more there is to say about this classic than has already been said, but I'll try to add my thoughts in a meaningful way. Bottled September 25th, 2014, so it's almost 2 years old. This is probably the oldest bottle of Orval I've had yet, so I'm excited!

Pours a phenomenal deep amber hue with absurd, climbing — towering, even! — head that just fails to relent throughout each small pour. Needless to say, this is a gorgeous beer with a remarkable appearance. The foamy cap is so thorough that I can barely get 9 ounces into my 12 ounce glass, as the rest of the vertical space is reserved for the Brett-induced bubble eruption. No clarity is apparent, as is logical with the use of such a well-defined yeast strain. Lace is spotty but not exactly required in the style regardless.

Nose is funky with green apple, white grape must, rustic notes, baking spice, pie crust and earthy/herbal and floral hop elements. A beautifully strong and distinct smell that also comes across as slightly fragile and delicate as well. There's an excellent balance here, obviously based on creating the same beer (and only that one beer!) for nearly a century. I'm getting some slight ethanol notes as well, which makes sense as this is probably slightly stronger than the ~7% it's marked as due to Brett yeast conditioning over the course of two years since bottling.

Palate is delightfully earthy, spicy and funky with some definite green apple skin, dry white wine notes and sweaty (weird description but it works, trust me... not a bad thing at all!), rustic aspects as well. I even get a slightly tannic flavor and some fruity candy like notes as well. A very slight acidity comes across on the tongue, too, perhaps a result of the long bottle conditioning. White pepper, tart and doughy yeast and an almost "Saison-like" dryness finish out each sip.

Feel is perfectly balanced between effervescent and chewy, with an adequate yet massaging carbonation and rather dry finish that combines all of the flavors perfectly. Ethanol is mildly apparent, but serves only to help savor the experience. I will definitely buy more moderately-aged (bottle says best before 2019) Orval soon. Though it's a pretty expensive single bottle, it is a world-class Belgian Trappist product that deserves its high ratings.

It pours a cloudy orange gold with a 3 finger head of foam(served cold) with lots of lacing.

The smell is yeasty and bready with some good notes of funk.

The taste has the Brett and yeast at the forefront followed closely by some pepper, light clove, and some hop bitterness which shares finishing duty with some funk. D-licious. Oh, I've had this many times before as I picked em up from CO before but I'm somewhat aghast that I haven't reviewed it before.

Medium bodied with a rather high level of carbonation, I'm having a hard time not raising the glass to my mouth which leads to....

Drinkability. This is one of my favourites so it's damn drinkable for me and the goodness of the Brett is one big factor steering me that way. A world class brew!

Edit: After having so many great experiences drinking Orval, I had to go back and give it a perfect 5.

Poured a very nice orange color with huge rocky head (I have yet to purchase a nice trappist ale glass),the aroma was slightly peppery and a little tart.Taste is pretty dry with a slight peppery tinge to it.I liked this more than what I thought I would not as sour as what I thought it might be,very well done.

Appearance: an cloudy amber/brown pour with an enormous and foamy head accompanied with a very lively body. the glass makes for excellent presentation. it LOOKS like a great beer.

Smell: a dull woody nose, different from what i remember sampling in Canada. earthy notes are very prominent although the nose seems subtle and held back.

Taste: rich and creamy, again, more so then i remember. more woodiness is present in the body along with slight herbal characteristics.

Mouthfeel: very rich and very lively. lots of activity in this beer.

Drinkability: to me this is the most different from all the other trappists. obviously much mess sweet. decent drinkability alothough it is not nearly my favorite trappist. i'm suprised it ranks so highly. i wonder if this is b/c it is labelled a "trappist"?